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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Here we are again! Another week, another update. Hopefully you'll like the direction the story goes this week, inspired by the prompt: "What did you have in mind?"

Lost Inside Chapter 32

Yuri
was limp as a doll, letting Benny manipulate his arms into a shirt. His anger
was gone, and in its place was a man scared as hell and getting worse by the minute.

“He
hurt me.”

“I
know. We won’t let it happen again.”

“With
needles. I don’t like needles.” He shivered. Benny pulled him into his arms and
hugged him.

“No
more needles.”

“No
more time,” the Falcon hissed. “Can we get the hell out of here? My men are
tired of circling overhead. The air isn’t great for flying tonight.”

“I
won’t tell you again.” Benny glared over his shoulder. “If you scare my mate
further, I will hurt you.” He bared his fangs.

Yuri
followed quietly. Benny snagged their bags as they walked out. It was raining
softly, clouds blocking the evening sky and turning the landscape a uniform
gray. Benny scanned the surroundings constantly.

“There’s
been no sightings of—”

“I
got it.” Benny didn’t want to feel his mate flinch again at the sound of his
father’s name. Yuri was too calm; he’d shut down again. Benny wished he could
strangle Sheshtun. He’d nearly had his mate back, but that bastard wouldn’t
stop.

Whatever
he wanted from them, he wasn’t going to get. Benny needed more information.
They slipped into the black SUV in front of the cabin. Benny urged Yuri to lay
down with his head in Benny’s lap. “Close your eyes and relax. You’re safe with
me.” Benny ran his hands through Yuri’s hair, scraping his claws gently over
Yuri’s scalp.

When
Yuri’s breathing settled into a regular rhythm, and Benny was sure he was
asleep, he began pumping their driver for more info.

“Tell
me what you know.”

“Sheshtun
was forcing pheromones from Yuisi’s mate to influence him. With his pheromones,
they’d dose females to get try and force breeding. The doctor said they tried
several females, but Yuisi’s seed didn’t take. That’s when he started altering
the pheromones to make Yuisi’s mate believe Yuri was his mate—that’s why he
attacked you. He was supposed to take

“All
this was so Sheshtun could get a pureblood heir?”

The
Falcon nodded. He turned onto the freeway and began speeding back toward
Velaku’s territory. Benny seethed. Sheshtun had tortured both his sons because
they were gay and that didn’t fit in with his world view of a perfect Tiger
Alpha and heir.

What
a bastard.

“How’d
he escape?”

The
Falcon’s hands tightened on the wheel. “He had allies we didn’t know about.
Velaku believes Sheshtun was not the only Tiger Alpha trying to force breeding
in his clan. The clans have been dying out due to inbreeding.

“Velaku
has been trying to extend a hand in friendship to the Tiger clans. They
rejected modern ways, and modern technology, on the surface—all the while using
it to hurt their own members. He’s pissed, and he’s contacted the other heads
of the US territories. That was the last I heard before word of Sheshtun’s
escape reached us, and we were forced to end the briefing.”

Benny
stared out the window at the passing scenery, barely visible in the darkness,
even to his eyes. “Get us back. I think it’s time we stop letting Sheshtun hunt
us… and start hunting him.”

***

“What
did you have in mind?” Velaku leaned back in his chair behind his desk. Natham
rubbed his shoulder, then slid his hand over Velaku’s wing where it arched
behind him.

“Dav
will find Sheshtun. I’ll kill him. You deal with the crap about the experiments
he was doing, and the other clan’s punishment as well, with the other leaders.
My mate will be safe, and maybe he will stop having nightmares.” He’d had
another one in the car, waking up shaking and disoriented, fighting Benny’s
hold on him. Seeing that amount of fear in Yuri’s eyes, and having to control
his temper while his mate cried out and fought against him brought back all the
pain from their year apart. He was afraid Yuri had slipped back, and all the
progress they’d made in their relationship would be wiped out.

He
really didn’t want to leave his mate, but Cleara and Szorpin would take care of
him until Benny came back. Yuri knew them, and he’d be safe surrounded by the
Falcons. Yuisi and his mate were being treated by Dr. Pannar, but the two
brothers could spend time together. Yuri would like that.

“You
know, if you kill Sheshtun, you’ll become the head of the Tiger Clan.” Natham
watched him, his head tilted to one side. “You told Velaku before that you were
no Alpha, but if you do this, you won’t have a choice.”

Sacrifices
had to be made, but Benny was willing to make them. Whatever it took to keep
his mate safe.

“If
I become the leader of Sheshtun’s clan, can I bring them here? The ones who
weren’t involved in his schemes?” he asked Velaku. “This is our home now. I
don’t want to leave Jerret, and Yuri is very close to Cleara and her young. We
belong here.”

Velaku’s
wings rustled as he leaned forward. “I agree. I think you’d make a great Alpha.
I know I said that before, but I mean it. You have more strength inside of you
than most will ever see, but when you need to step up, you do, no matter what
the cost you must bear. With your guidance, maybe we can bring the Tiger clan
out of the stone ages and into the present—the right way. Whatever I can do to
help, I will. My territory will always be open for you and yours.”

Benny
stood up when Velaku did. He took Velaku’s offered hand with gratitude. “Thank
you.”

TBC

Now check out the tons of other great updates by my fellow Briefers at our central website, or follow these links:

M.A.
Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary
education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have
two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets,
watching professional football, racing, and spending time with her family on
the lake.

But
her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can remember hunting
for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science fiction genres captured
her attention and drew her into the worlds the authors had created. But always
at the back of her mind was the thought that one day, when the kids were older
and she had more time, she would write a book.

By
sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was
hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the journey started. When
not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream
romance novels.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

HI all! So much better this week! My bff's daughter went home and doing soooo well! She can't sit for long, but she's moving with just cane! I swear, kids are so resilient! Big thanks to everyone who took a moment to share good thoughts for her. So, this week's prompt is "Did you say...?"

Lost Inside: Chapter 31

Yuri
ate, but his headache grew again. His brief burst of energy was gone, and all
he wanted to do was sleep.

“You
done?” Benny grabbed the box, still half-full with most of the burger and fries
Yuri had wished for, before it could tip over and spill.

“Uh-huh.”
Yuri yawned. His eyelids weighed a ton. “Sleepy again.”

Benny
tucked the blankets up around Yuri’s chest. “You can shower and get dressed
later. I bought you some sweats and a t-shirt.”

The
bed dipped under his mate’s weight. Benny curled around him, and Yuri turned to
his mate, nuzzling his neck. He smelled so good.

“Go
to sleep.” Benny stroked his back.

***

Benny
watched Yuri sleep for a while. It didn’t look very restful. He was snarling
and his claws kept sliding out the tips of his fingers.

Pounding
on the door jerked Benny out of the light doze he’d finally found.

“What
the—”

“No!”
Yuri roared. He jumped out of bed, naked, his pupils so big his eyes looked
black. He snarled and hissed, his ears flat to his head as he spun in the
middle of the room.

“Yuri?
Are you okay?” Benny got to his feet slowly. His mate was crouched, ready to
attack. The pounding on the door came again.

His
roar vibrated the air.

“Stop
pounding on the fucking door!” Benny shouted. He had to calm Yuri down before
he mauled whoever was disturbing them.

The
pounding didn’t stop.

Fuck
it. Benny might maul whoever was out there. He shoved down his anger and
approached Yuri, his ears as upright as he could get them and his hands open at
his sides. “Yuri? Mate?”

Could
he even hear him? Benny wasn’t sure. Yuri was awake, but he wasn’t there. What
memory was he locked in? Sheshtun deserved a slow death for the way he’d
treated his son to make him wake up this angry, this afraid.

“I
won’t let them hurt you!” Yuri hissed at the door, which was damn near
vibrating in the frame.

“No
one is going to hurt either of us. I swear. Can I touch you?” Benny wasn’t sure
where Yuri was. He didn’t seem like before, when he woke up screaming from the
first attack by Sheshtun. He wasn’t afraid; he was pissed.

Benny
hated that his mate had been hurt on his watch, twice no less. “I won’t hurt
you.” Benny finally reached Yuri and slowly enveloped his mate in his arms. He
didn’t squeeze—he wasn’t about to make Yuri feel trapped in any way—but he
pressed their chests together, skin to skin.

He
could feel the pounding of Yuri’s heart, hear his quick breaths and quiet
hisses. He tried to slow his own heart and breathe deep, steady breaths. “We’re
okay. We’re okay.” Benny stroked a hand up and down Yuri’s back. He was cold
and sweaty, his muscles slowly easing from rigid tightness.

“Benny?”
Yuri’s voice was softer, questioning.

“Yeah,
babe?”

“Did
I… hurt you?”

Benny
pulled back and looked in Yuri’s eyes. “Of course not. You were trying to
protect me. You’d never hurt me.”

“O-Okay.”

He
pushed some of the sweaty hair off Yuri’s forehead. “Bad dreams?”

“I
think”—Yuri let out a shaky breath—“I was remembering. He was hurting you,
hurting me. I tried to fight back, but my dad’s guards were helping him. I
couldn’t stop it.”

“Shh.
It’s not your fault. It wasn’t mine either. For a long time I thought it was.
You know, when he was praying for you, Bashta told me he was praying for me
too. We had a long talk about feeling guilty for things that we couldn’t
control. He said Fate sometimes meant we had to live through bad things to get
to the good.”

“Will
we get good stuff?” Yuri’s child-like question clenched Benny’s heart in a
tight fist. “I want good stuff with you.”

“We
will.” He had to believe that, for both of them. They deserved to have a happy
life together. All they wanted to do was be mates and love each other.

“Can
you make the pounding stop? My head still hurts.”

Benny’d
blocked out the incessant knocking on the door, when the person bugging them
hadn’t tried to get in.

“Here.
Let’s put some pants on.”

He
walked them to the bed, then rummaged around in the bag he’d brought back from
the store. Benny hated putting his dirty clothes back on, but he’d only had
enough cash for the food, room, and some clothes for Yuri. He ignored his
underwear and slid his jeans on commando.

Walking
to the door, Benny wished he had a gun. He slid close to the window and
twitched the curtain an inch. He could barely see the front stoop, but he could
see the wide wings of the Falcon standing on the other side of the door.

He
yanked it open. “What the hell are you doing here?” Benny snarled at the head
of the Falcons.

“Saving
your ass. Sheshtun evaded capture. We’ve been trying to reach you, or find out
where the hell you’d hidden since you took off and left that damn doctor to
wait for Velaku. Pack your shit; we have to go.”

“Did
you say you let Sheshtun get away? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Two
of my men were shot taking down the Tiger’s compound. Don’t question our
abilities when you’re going to have to depend on it to keep your mate safe. I
found you—Sheshtun could too. He didn’t escape alone.”

“My
dad’s coming here?” Yuri sounded scared. He scrambled off the bed and backed
away from the door.

“Yes,
so let’s go.”

Benny
snarled and dug his claws into the Falcon’s shirt. “Stop scaring my mate.” He
hurried over to Yuri. “Shh. We’re gonna be okay.”

He
needed a gun. “Call Davis and ask him to meet us wherever we’re going. Now.”

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Happy Wednesday! I barely scraped writing this on time, so please forgive any typos. The daughter of my best friend (we met 28 years ago, in 1st grade) who is essentially family to me, had her horse rear back and fall on top of her, breaking her pelvis and left hip in several places. She's okay, healing in the hospital right now and looking to go home in a few days, but I'm spending most of my time taking care of things for them and helping out however I can. So, yeah, not much editing on this week's post. Sorry! My update was inspired by the prompt: Have a character turn cartwheels.

Lost Inside Chapter 30

Just
once didn’t satisfy his mate. Yuri stayed hard for hours. Benny’s ass felt raw,
and he was exhausted by the time whatever they’d given his mate wore off. Yuri collapsed
beside him.

Benny
could barely keep his eyes open. He rolled over, pulling Yuri into his arms.
The scent of his mate’s skin, the steady rise and fall of his chest and the
thumping of his heart against Benny’s arm finally soothed him into sleep.

***

Yuri
blinked, his vision hazy. His head was pounding so hard, it felt like he was
inside a drum. He groaned.

“Yuri?
Are you awake?” Benny pulled on his shoulder. “Hey, look at me?”

It
hurt. He slitted his eyes against the light. “Too bright,” he whispered.

“Okay,
hold on.” The bed dipped. Yuri winced at the slide of rings on metal, but
blessedly, the room dimmed. “Better?”

“Uh-huh.”
Yuri made the mistake of nodding. He rolled onto his side, retching off the
edge of the bed. His mate dove toward him, moving a garbage bin just in time.
Yuri’s stomach was turning cartwheels in his belly, and bile burned his throat
and nose.

He
heaved, over and over, until he couldn’t tell up from down. A hand swept up and
down his back. Yuri’s arms collapsed under him, and he huddled into a ball with
his head hanging off the bed.

“Shit,
shit, shit.” Benny fumbled one-handed with a phone on the nightstand, but he
swept his hand up and down Yuri’s spine with soft strokes. “Dav? Are you with
Velaku still?”

Yuri
shivered.

“I
need to talk to that doctor I left for you guys. Now. Yuri’s sick and shaking.
I don’t know if it’s a side effect or if he needs help.” Benny’s voice was high
and he was speaking really fast. Yuri reached for him.

“Shh.”
Benny grabbed Yuri’s hand and pulled it
to his cheek. “It’s okay.”

His
mouth tasted so bad. Yuri wished he had something to drink. “Water?” he
croaked.

“Of
course.” Benny tucked the phone against his shoulder and jumped up. Yuri heard
the sound of the faucet, and his mouth got even nastier, if that were possible.
Benny gently shifted him onto the bed. “Small sips.”

It
was better than anything Yuri ever tasted—even Cleara’s scones with cream. Benny
tipped the cup up several times and then set it down. “I’ll give you more in a
few minutes. Let’s see if you hold that down.” He stroked Yuri’s hair, gently
rubbing. “About fucking time.”

Yuri
sank down onto the bed, enjoying Benny’s claws scratching lightly at his scalp
from ear to ear. He had no idea where he was, or what was going on, but his
mate was with him.

That
was all that mattered. He closed his eyes and just floated in the moment,
listening to the rumble of Benny’s voice. More time passed than he realized, or
he’d fallen asleep, because Benny was in the bed with him when Yuri stretched
and rolled over.

“Hey,
you. Feeling better?”

Did
he? Yuri blinked. “My head.”

“Better
or worse?”

“Better.”
The drums were outside now, dimmer. “Not sick now, either.”

Benny
sighed. “Good, good. The doctor said it was likely just a bad headache. Yuisi’s
been suffering from them, too.”

“Yuisi?”
Yuri frowned. “My brother? What…?”

“Your
dad had your brother at his compound. And his mate, the Tiger that attacked us,
was there too. They’re both gonna be okay.” Benny rubbed Yuri’s head, making
him want to purr. “You’re gonna be okay, too. Better than okay, I promise,” he
said fiercely.

“Okay,”
Yuri repeated. His stomach growled. “I’m hungry.”

“I
can get us some food, if you want. It’s been quite a while since we ate, and
you did try to puke up your toenails. You’re probably running on empty. It
might make you feel better.”

Yuri
wanted to protest when Benny got up, but he wanted food too. Benny slid pants
up his legs and fastened them. His t-shirt was dirty, and had tears in it.
Benny grimaced but put it on. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

Benny
said not to move, but Yuri had to pee. He’d just forgotten to say so. Maybe he
could use the bathroom really fast and get back in bed. Yuri slid out of bed. His
head spun. He stumbled forward, grabbing onto the foot of the bed. He staggered
drunkenly across the room toward the bathroom he could see through the open
door on the right.

Glancing
out the window as he relieved the pressure in his bladder, Yuri frowned. It was
dark outside. Had he slept all day?

No
wonder he was hungry. Maybe Benny would bring back some burgers. And fries. Yuri
licked his lips as he washed up. He splashed some water on his face, then
cupped his hand under the faucet and took a drink.

His
stomach growled again.

Lots
of fries.

“Yuri?
Where are you? Yuri!”

“In
here.” Uh oh. Benny was back faster than Yuri thought.

“There
you are.”

“Sorry.”
Yuri bit his lip and looked at his toes, curling them under and relaxing.

“For
what?” Benny cocked his head.

“I
moved.”

Benny
chuckled. “It’s okay. I just meant not to leave the cabin. I’m glad you felt
good enough to get up, but maybe I can help you back to bed?”

Like
he was gonna pass that up. “Yes, please.”

TBC

So you can check out the Briefer's Website, or follow these links to the other Briefer's updates:

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

I have the great privilege of reading much of M.A. Church's work before it comes out, and I just know the Nighttime books are ones my sci-fi fans would enjoy!

To Be or Not To Be… an Alien

Interesting question. And actually is what partly
sparked this series. What kind of aliens could I come up with? Hmmm. A race that
doesn’t show emotions until they find their mates. I wanted a body type that
was something a little different. Maybe a tad bit frightening.

What about tentacles?

But I didn’t want these coming out of the body like
arms. Nope, I had another idea. What about tentacles that are like… hair. Kind
of like dreads. Dreads that not only move, but also take part in sex.

Yup, lol. That’s what I said. ;)

Think Predator with more humanoid features. Still as
dangerous, but having the ability to love. And whoo boy, when these big guys
fall, they fall hard lol. ;)

The first time Daroshi spotted Bryan, the Maz’Rarian
warrior knew he wanted the small town sheriff as his mate. Things have been
going downhill since. Daroshi doesn’t have experience dealing with humans,
especially a very unhappy human male who’s just had his well-planned life
jerked out from under him. Little does Daroshi know the changes Bryan will
insist be made to help him adjust. But he also never dreamed someone would
actually try to kill his mate.

The shocks just keep coming for Sheriff Bryan
Coltrane. Finding out aliens exist was bad enough. Finding himself mated to one
was definitely not on his to-do list. Wait, what? Did someone say tentacles?
And if that’s not enough, a killer tried to poison him. Added to his misery,
now he’s on his way to another planet—a planet that he hates on sight. How’s he
supposed to survive in such a cold, ugly industrialized world? Can you take the
country out of the boy without killing his spirit?

As Bryan struggles to adapt, a killer plots to end
his new life... before it even begins.

Bryan grinned, a wide smile crossing his face, his
hands shaking a bit. “Well, let’s get that port window open then. I’d like to
see the planet from space.”

They were going to see Daroshi’s planet. It wasn’t
everyday he saw a planet from a space ship. And, this was where he was going to
live now. God only knew what kind of new animals and… just things in general
he’d be learning about. Daroshi stepped toward a blanked-out
screen and touched the bottom.

Shawn
moved closer to Bryan. “It’s kinda scary, isn’t it? I mean, this is soon-to-be
our home. Think about it, Bryan. We’re going to live on a new planet. A place
most humans have never seen. Man, I bet there are several scientists that would
give their left nuts to be…”

Shawn
trailed off as the screen flickered, the blackness fading away to an equally
dark view of space, but with a planet in the distance, the only object in
sight.

Bryan
blinked. “Hmmm.”

Shawn
scratched his head. “Ah…”

Daroshi
turned from the screen, pride evident on his face. “There it is… Maz’Rar. A
proud and mighty planet. What do you think?”

Shawn
glanced at Bryan. “Well, it’s big.”

Bryan
blinked again as the view continued to shift, drawing closer, the planet
filling the screen. A moon orbited the planet. “Yeah, big. Very big.”

Shawn
cleared his throat. “And, um… it’s round.”

Bryan
nodded. “Yup, round.”

“And…
it’s really gray. Lots and lots of gray. Seems to be swirling all around the
planet.”

Bryan
swallowed. Lots and lots of gray? There’s
nothing but gray. Just endless gray
circulating in those strange swirls. Is that the atmosphere? Can we even
breathe that air? “Uh-huh, that’s the color gray, all right. No doubt about
it.” Bryan glanced at Daroshi. “How long before we land?”

“Soon.
I can’t wait to show you around. You won’t believe the advances in technology
we have.”

Bryan
nodded. “Looking forward to it.” And the
first thing we need to do is introduce these guys to the concept of color.
Jesus, that’s the ugliest planet I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t look anything like
Earth.

Daroshi
smiled at Bryan, and then turned back to the port window. “I’m so glad to be
home.”

Bryan
looked at Shawn. Shawn slowly turned, checking to make sure Daroshi was
engrossed with the view in front of him. Shawn glanced at Bryan and wrinkled
his nose as though he’d smelled something gross.

M.A. Church lives in the southern United
States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married
to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are
gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football,
racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.

But her most beloved hobby is reading.
From an early age, she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later
nonhuman and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into
the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was the
thought that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would
write a book.

By sheer chance, she stumbled across a
gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. A new world opened up and she
fell in love. Thus the journey started. When not writing or researching, she
enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.